Best degree programs for First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives, ranked by enrollment
16 college programs and 1,570 schools train First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $106,040 median wage, 154,610 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
16 college programs at 1,570 schools train first-line supervisors of police and detectives, graduating 81,313 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Criminal Justice/Safety Studies. The job pays a median of $106,040 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About first-line supervisors of police and detectives
Directly supervise and coordinate activities of members of police force.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
16 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 43.0104 | 40,687 | 50.0% | 824 | $37,408 | $24,069 |
| 2 | CIP 43.0103 | 26,068 | 32.1% | 650 | $37,408 | $24,069 |
| 3 | CIP 43.0102 | 3,804 | 4.7% | 147 | $37,408 | $24,069 |
| 4 | CIP 43.0301 | 2,784 | 3.4% | 102 | $46,281 | $23,250 |
| 5 | CIP 43.0302 | 2,762 | 3.4% | 152 | $46,281 | $23,250 |
| 6 | CIP 43.0100 | 2,344 | 2.9% | 75 | $37,408 | $24,069 |
| 7 | CIP 43.0404 | 1,710 | 2.1% | 66 | $40,889 | $25,000 |
| 8 | CIP 43.0303 | 568 | 0.7% | 25 | $46,281 | $23,250 |
| 9 | CIP 03.0208 | 222 | 0.3% | 21 | $37,946 | $24,125 |
| 10 | CIP 43.0304 | 178 | 0.2% | 14 | $46,281 | $23,250 |
| 11 | CIP 43.0401 | 60 | 0.1% | 6 | $40,889 | $25,000 |
| 12 | CIP 43.0120 | 42 | 0.1% | 6 | $37,408 | $24,069 |
| 13 | Signal/Geospatial Intelligencemain feeder CIP 29.0203 | 35 | 0.0% | 7 | $56,755 | $24,878 |
| 14 | CIP 43.0119 | 29 | 0.0% | 2 | $37,408 | $24,069 |
| 15 | CIP 43.0407 | 19 | 0.0% | 6 | $40,889 | $25,000 |
| 16 | CIP 43.0499 | 1 | 0.0% | 1 | $40,889 | $25,000 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What first-line supervisors of police and detectives earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $163,960 | 13,200 | 0.73× | 140 | 11,708 |
| Texas | $111,000 | 5,540 | 0.40× | 92 | 7,192 |
| Florida | $100,880 | 9,900 | 1.00× | 63 | 5,424 |
| Arizona | $104,850 | 2,790 | 0.87× | 26 | 4,876 |
| New York | $124,080 | 12,750 | 1.32× | 83 | 4,611 |
| Virginia | $101,230 | 3,750 | 0.92× | 48 | 4,123 |
| Georgia | $80,120 | 7,910 | 1.63× | 61 | 3,224 |
| North Carolina | $91,100 | 4,820 | 0.98× | 93 | 2,988 |
| Pennsylvania | $102,400 | 5,690 | 0.94× | 85 | 2,553 |
| Indiana | $81,540 | 1,700 | 0.53× | 29 | 2,524 |
| West Virginia | $74,280 | 490 | 0.70× | 22 | 1,886 |
| Illinois | $135,080 | 4,900 | 0.81× | 45 | 1,862 |
| Massachusetts | $104,320 | 5,540 | 1.53× | 38 | 1,747 |
| New Jersey | $142,990 | 7,650 | 1.80× | 30 | 1,727 |
| Ohio | $98,380 | 5,170 | 0.94× | 61 | 1,610 |
| Colorado | $126,810 | 2,790 | 0.98× | 20 | 1,529 |
| Alabama | $75,970 | 1,900 | 0.91× | 17 | 1,377 |
| Maryland | $120,700 | 6,700 | 2.44× | 16 | 1,377 |
| Kentucky | $80,390 | 1,600 | 0.81× | 32 | 1,339 |
| Michigan | $98,140 | 3,290 | 0.75× | 42 | 1,274 |
| South Carolina | $73,700 | 1,560 | 0.68× | 39 | 1,079 |
| Utah | $110,500 | 1,360 | 0.79× | 9 | 1,066 |
| Louisiana | $70,470 | 3,120 | 1.62× | 24 | 1,005 |
| Tennessee | $74,770 | 4,430 | 1.36× | 42 | 997 |
| Missouri | $94,440 | 3,490 | 1.20× | 31 | 912 |
| Iowa | $98,840 | 1,370 | 0.88× | 28 | 827 |
| Connecticut | $109,360 | 2,240 | 1.33× | 11 | 798 |
| Arkansas | $62,290 | 2,100 | 1.62× | 32 | 774 |
| Wisconsin | $97,120 | 2,080 | 0.71× | 32 | 748 |
| Nevada | $132,100 | 1,300 | 0.84× | 8 | 742 |
| Minnesota | $118,750 | 2,870 | 0.98× | 31 | 727 |
| Nebraska | $106,100 | 730 | 0.72× | 15 | 722 |
| District of Columbia | $134,760 | 1,230 | 1.77× | 8 | 547 |
| Oklahoma | $82,830 | 2,420 | 1.43× | 24 | 491 |
| New Mexico | $92,200 | 1,320 | 1.53× | 19 | 476 |
| Mississippi | $59,860 | 2,060 | 1.79× | 16 | 471 |
| Idaho | $94,920 | 930 | 1.09× | 8 | 428 |
| Washington | $136,280 | 2,750 | 0.78× | 23 | 419 |
| Kansas | $82,950 | 2,330 | 1.63× | 18 | 368 |
| Rhode Island | $97,690 | 820 | 1.65× | 6 | 286 |
| Maine | $92,350 | 440 | 0.70× | 12 | 253 |
| New Hampshire | $100,060 | 940 | 1.39× | 11 | 250 |
| Oregon | $122,130 | 1,470 | 0.75× | 12 | 219 |
| North Dakota | $98,300 | 440 | 1.03× | 10 | 198 |
| South Dakota | $87,810 | 190 | 0.42× | 10 | 159 |
| Vermontmoderate | $99,280 | 210 | 0.70× | 4 | 127 |
| Wyoming | $91,400 | 430 | 1.54× | 8 | 119 |
| Delaware | $131,080 | 410 | 0.85× | 5 | 115 |
| Hawaiimoderate | $140,590 | 700 | 1.12× | 3 | 111 |
| Alaskalimited | $137,320 | 320 | 0.99× | 2 | 80 |
| Montana | $89,380 | 450 | 0.89× | 6 | 38 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Supervise and coordinate the investigation of criminal cases, offering guidance and expertise to investigators, and ensuring that procedures are conducted in accordance with laws and regulations.
- Prepare work schedules and assign duties to subordinates.
- Direct collection, preparation, and handling of evidence and personal property of prisoners.
- Investigate and resolve personnel problems within organization and charges of misconduct against staff.
- Explain police operations to subordinates to assist them in performing their job duties.
- Maintain logs, prepare reports, and direct the preparation, handling, and maintenance of departmental records.
- Inform personnel of changes in regulations and policies, implications of new or amended laws, and new techniques of police work.
- Train staff in proper police work procedures.
Skills
- Monitoring4.0
- Active Listening4.0
- Critical Thinking4.0
- Speaking4.0
- Reading Comprehension4.0
- Active Learning3.9
- Learning Strategies3.8
- Writing3.8
Knowledge areas
- Public Safety and Security4.7
- Law and Government4.5
- Customer and Personal Service4.4
- Administration and Management4.0
- English Language3.8
- Psychology3.8
Abilities
- Oral Comprehension4.0
- Oral Expression4.0
- Problem Sensitivity4.0
- Written Comprehension4.0
- Deductive Reasoning3.9
- Inductive Reasoning3.9
Core activities
- Getting Information4.7
- Documenting/Recording Information4.5
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates4.4
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems4.3
- Performing for or Working Directly with the Public4.3
- Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships4.2
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a First-Line Supervisors of police officer
Job zone 2 of 5 · SVP Below 6.0- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Work experience needed
- Less than 5 years
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 19 majors mapped to First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives16 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 03.0208Environmental/Natural Resources Law Enforcement and Protective Services
- 29.0203Signal/Geospatial Intelligence
- 43.0100Criminal Justice and Corrections, General
- 43.0102Corrections
- 43.0103Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement Administration
- 43.0104Criminal Justice/Safety Studies
- 43.0115Law Enforcement Record-Keeping and Evidence Management(no graduates reported)
- 43.0119Critical Incident Response/Special Police Operations
- 43.0120Protective Services Operations
- 43.0122Maritime Law Enforcement(no graduates reported)
- 43.0123Cultural/Archaelogical Resources Protection(no graduates reported)
- 43.0301Homeland Security
- 43.0302Crisis/Emergency/Disaster Management
- 43.0303Critical Infrastructure Protection
- 43.0304Terrorism and Counterterrorism Operations
- 43.0401Security Science and Technology, General
- 43.0404Cybersecurity Defense Strategy/Policy
- 43.0407Geospatial Intelligence
- 43.0499Security Science and Technology, Other
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become a First-Line Supervisors of police officer?+
High school diploma or equivalent is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Criminal Justice/Safety Studies, which awarded 40,687 degrees in 2024-25, 50.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a First-Line Supervisors of police officer?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 16 programs to this occupation. The largest are Criminal Justice and Corrections, Homeland Security, Security Science and Technology, Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy, plus 1 more. Together they graduate about 81,313 people a year.
How much do first-line supervisors of police and detectives earn?+
The median is $106,040 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $63,350 at the 10th percentile to $165,110 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for first-line supervisors of police and detectives growing?+
BLS projects a +2.9% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 10,900 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
1,570 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 16 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do first-line supervisors of police and detectives work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Lieutenant, Police Captain, Patrol Sergeant, Police Sergeant among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 33-1012.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024-25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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